PlantaSYST position: PhD students

Location (Dept., Institute): Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Germany

Ciaran Rühmkorff completed both his B.Sc. in biology, as well as his M.Sc. in technical biology at the TU Darmstadt. He first became acquainted with synthetic biology during his bachelor thesis when he worked on aptamer-based gene expression switches in mammalian cells. Subsequently, his master thesis, which falls within the area of protein engineering, aimed at utilizing sequence specific protease as proteolytic switches in Escherichia coli. Now undertaking his PhD thesis (commenced in August 2020), he aims to improve the heterologous production of terpenoids in Saccaromyces cerevisiae with the aid of synthetic tools. So far, these synthetic tools comprise a promoter engineering approach as well as a design, which might allow substrate channelling on small cellular lipid storage chambers, called lipid droplets.